In general, an index of refraction is a natural property of a material measured according to an optical method. In particular, an index of refraction is mainly used to induce properties of a fluid in the fields of biochemistry and biomedicine since it is influenced by the content of a solute in a solvent.
Conventionally, refractometers for measuring an index of refraction of a microfluid have been studied in various ways. However, there is a limit in accurately measuring an index of refraction of a small amount of a target fluid.
For example, although there have been attempts to measure an index of refraction of a microfluid using an Abbe prism, a Fabry-Perot resonator, a Bragg reflector resonator, and a microchannel edge image, these apparatuses require a complex manufacturing process and high costs. Further, these apparatuses cause uncertainty in measurement of the index of refraction of the microfluid according to user skill, and a separate calibration procedure is necessarily performed to measure the index of refraction using a refractometer in most cases.
Therefore, there is a need for a microfluid measuring refractometer capable of easily and accurately measuring an index of refraction using a self-calibration type simple system has arisen.